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I’ve had two iPods and know people who have them and none of us have ever had battery trouble. Yes Apple overstates the battery estimate but I work for a cellphone retailer and every single company who makes a phone or a battery overstates their estimates by at least 15% usually more like 25%.

The thing is the iPod is the hot item right now and stories about how it’s not working properly sell. So while there have been a few phone models that have just been consistently terrible (the Motorola C333 for example) where I would say 75% of people who bought one have had to have it exchanged or repaired, you don’t read about it because it’s not the hip thing.

So I don’t think Apple’s troubles is any more regular with the iPod than other companies with their devices. It’s just the iPod is at the top of the pile so people like taking shots at it.

Posted by Jeffery Simpson in Irvine, CA on February 20, 2004 at 10:20 AM (CST)

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Blah blah blah…

Posted by narco in Irvine, CA on February 20, 2004 at 11:02 AM (CST)

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It’s possible that alot of companies also overstate the battery life, but why is it that other companies can build mp3 players with much better battery life then our iPods?

Sure, I’ll take the excuse of size. It works for the gen3’s vs the zens, rios, irivers, etc…

But why is it that the new iPod Mini’s have such an inferior battery life to the Creative Muvo2 (the 4gb one)?
Both are of comparable size, both use the same HDD, yet one can last 14+hrs, while the mini lasts a mere 8 (probably less)!!!

Posted by John in Irvine, CA on February 20, 2004 at 11:10 AM (CST)

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I found this to be complete bull in the article:

*****
Elfstrom notes that people buying iPods will only use them for a couple of years anyway, much like cell phones. “The new iPod mini is coming,” he says. “People will be upgrading.”
*****

This guy is an ass, plain and simple. No way in hell am I going to be upgrading after spending 500 bucks on something that should last for a very long time. If the battery goes, I will replace it. This guy is clueless. Not only that, the iPod mini sucks when it comes to space, why would I want to downgrade my available space? I don’t.

Posted by Dr_Cogent in Irvine, CA on February 20, 2004 at 11:24 AM (CST)

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“why is it that other companies can build mp3 players with much better battery life then our iPods”

Em, because they are larger and can fit more battery?

Posted by bigger in Irvine, CA on February 20, 2004 at 11:35 AM (CST)

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I would think if you evaluated all the large capacity rechargeable players you would find the same battery failure rate. Whenever you sell the most your products shortcomings will be exposed no matter how small. I would bet if you put a pen to it that Apple has way less than 1% true battery problems. r

Posted by rico in Irvine, CA on February 20, 2004 at 11:45 AM (CST)

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The Zen’s battery is about the same size as the iPods, my friend has one. So that still kinda puzzles me.

Posted by Rob in Irvine, CA on February 20, 2004 at 11:47 AM (CST)

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Man will they EVER give this a rest!?! I can see the iPod competitors help fuel the fire for this. Me and my wife both have the 3G iPods (40 gig and 20 gig) and we use it just to play music. No playing games, looking at contacts or the calendar and we get the stated battery life. I’ll be glad when they find something else to complain about. Maybe Lucas needs to put out more Star Wars so ppl can start complaining about Jar Jar again.

Posted by Mr Mike in Irvine, CA on February 20, 2004 at 11:55 AM (CST)

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I think that they are blowing this outta proportion, but I want to be able to use the Contacts And the Calender features.

Posted by usable features in Irvine, CA on February 20, 2004 at 12:36 PM (CST)

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Maybe mine (40GB G3) is a lemon, as are all my friends’, but I think the battery is ng. It works, and because I love it so much, I always have it hooked up to the computer. I can’t help but notice that I don’t get anywhere near 8 hours. I can watch the battery meter decline while I’m using it. I have to ff and turn on the light every now and then, or whatever. Should I really suffer for doing simple things like that?

People I know have similar issues, and I love my iPod, but am constantly living in fear that the battery won’t cover whatever travel time I have coming up. Without blowing it out of proportion, I think it really is by far the worst thing about the little gizmo. That, and not being able to re-sort playlists on the go. Of course, that would probably reduce battery life, too.

Posted by Amighty in Irvine, CA on February 20, 2004 at 12:47 PM (CST)

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I use the iPod (gen3) for music, and nothing else. I get around 6-6.5hrs, which is okay.

Im not comparing it to the Zen…

BUT, THE MINI iPOD should have similar battery life to the CREATIVE MUVO2.
They’re about the same size, use the exact same HDD! Yet there’s a HUGE DIFFERENCE in life! WTF IS THAT ABOUT?

Posted by John in Irvine, CA on February 20, 2004 at 1:25 PM (CST)

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I wouldn’t really mind about the battery issue if the batteries were replaceable (more easily than what has to be done now).

I still have and use my original 5gb iPod and while I love it the battery life now just plain…sucks. I’m lucky to get an hour on it max. And this after nearly two years of owning it. I guess I’ll just have to open it up and replace it though, batt prices are coming down.

Posted by Andrew in Irvine, CA on February 20, 2004 at 1:34 PM (CST)

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iRiver iHP and iPod is almost the same size yet the other one is rated 16 hours. Rio Karma which has squarish design holds 15 hours of playback time.

Posted by Adam in Irvine, CA on February 20, 2004 at 2:36 PM (CST)

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Perhaps camcorders have done it right by offering easily swapped, different size/capacity batteries to suit your needs. Having a backup more elegant than a strap-on, AA battery pack might satisfy many.

Posted by HeadCase in Irvine, CA on February 20, 2004 at 2:38 PM (CST)

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Smaller batteries yielding less capacity? Different electrical devices consuming different amount of juice? And when you combine the two, you get yet another difference? Oh, my, what travesty!

Get a grip, people. If your ipod is defective, then call it as is, and get it repaired or replaced.

Posted by Agent Orange in Irvine, CA on February 20, 2004 at 2:48 PM (CST)

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He’s got a point about the Karma - that thing is very small and runs twice as long as an iPod. Is it that Apple is using cheap, lower-capacity batteries for the iPods?

Can you buy higher-capacity after market batteries.

Posted by Karma in Irvine, CA on February 20, 2004 at 3:00 PM (CST)

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“Elfstrom notes that earlier iPod models had battery indicators that detected low power even when the battery wasn’t low. He says Apple has since made the battery indicator MORE accurate.”

Oh really?

News to me. My battery icon will read empty after 4 hours yet I easily get another 2-3 hrs of use from the ipod. Yeah,real accurate.

Posted by knotme in Irvine, CA on February 20, 2004 at 3:17 PM (CST)

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That article only mentions macs in sleep mode not charging and draining the battery. According to Apple and the pros at the “Genius Bar” leaving the ipod hooked up to the computer is not a problem.

My battery works according to specs, it’s just that the specs are not very good, and 8 hours seems to be a fantasy under normal usage conditions. I’m amazed that people even argue about it - every iPod I’ve seen loses two battery levels within ten minutes of use. But the indicator is notoriously inaccurate (why is that, btw?)

What do I want? I’d like Apple to acknowledge that a lot of people want a better battery. It’s my only complaint about the thing. The lack of wma support doesn’t bother me since iTunes is so good I don’t even think about using any other jukebox.

From there we could concentrate on a battery UPGRADE, maybe with a RAM upgrade to boot.

(a color screen with album art would gravy)

Posted by amighty in Irvine, CA on February 20, 2004 at 3:20 PM (CST)

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I am on my fourth ipod - 4, count’em FOUR, three due to battery woes. The original 1st gen 5 gig died after 9 months of daily use (fitness instructor) and apple replaced it via apple care by mail. I sold the second before I had nay battery problems, and upgraded to a gen 3 15gig. I was fine for about 5 months, though I never got anything close to 8 hours on a charge. Slowly, surely, predecictibly, the battery life got less and less and less, until a full charge would offer maybe 1 1/2 hours. Then it would just cut out and shut off 15 minutes into play after charging. Apple replaced this one, too.

I purchased two docking stations, and two power adaptors. My latest ipod runs only with ac power. Juiced all the time, and it works fine. But isn’t this defeating the whole concept of the portable mp3 player?